As reported on the West News, international adoptions worldwide have decreased by more than half over the past decade. In some countries the decrease has been a full 80%. The French Institute of Demographic Studies searched for answers to this decline.
The demand is still every bit as strong as it was ten years ago, but many factors contribute to low supply. Among those are some good and valid reasons. With an improvement of standard of living in impoverished countries, parents are better able to care for their children, creating a reduction in the number of adoptable orphans. Additionally, there are fewer illegitimate births. This decreases the number of abandoned children in countries that forbid single parenting.
Sadly, some reasons for the decline are negative. On the other spectrum, politics are playing a role in decreasing international adoptions. For some countries, the concern is to stop child trafficking. Their adoption requirements have become more stringent. But in other countries, banning international adoptions seems to be a sanction the government places as a sort of political punishment.
The full story of the decline in international adoptions may be read here.
